Composer Jason V. Barabba’s work has been called “deeply meditative” by Fanfare magazine. His music has been performed by such diverse musicians as the Janaki String Trio, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, the California E.A.R. Unit and Chicago’s Quintet Attacca, in addition to academic institutions across the country. His chamber orchestra work The Abandonment of Pluto was premiered in England at the University of Bristol in 2008 and his String Trio was broadcast on WNYC radio in New York in 2009.

Mr. Barabba has frequently drawn on his love of literature for inspiration. His opera `dentity Crisis, based on the play by Christopher Durang, was called an “astounding work of the highest artistry” by fellow composer Bernard Gilmore. He has created several works using texts by author Ursula K. Le Guin, including Say I Am Not Far Enough and “The Scarcity of Rhinos” on the television which set poems from her book Sixty Odd. His Three Meditations for Clarinet and Piano draw inspiration from her version of the Tao Te Ching. Le Guin has said of Mr. Barabba’s work, “Some composers use words as raw material. Like Schubert or Vaughan-Williams, he collaborates with them...the texture of the music and the tension in it are wonderfully effective; it’s spare and airy, but strong.”

Recordings of Barabba’s music have been commercially released on the Yarlung Records, MMC Recordings and Navona Records labels.

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies at Occidental College, Mr. Barabba studied music composition at the University of Chicago, University of California at Irvine, and UCLA. His composition teachers have included Andrew Imbrie, John Eaton, David Lefkowitz, Richard Grayson, Christopher Dobrian and Alan Terricciano. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

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